STAFF and unions claim they were duped by council bosses when Blackburn's library became the first in Lancashire to open on Sundays.

And they fear the move could set a precedent for hundreds of other council workers to be forced to work Sundays.

Staff were told about the plans for Sunday opening at the town centre library last month. Union and staff representatives have held a series of meetings with council officers and have now agreed to work a rota of one Sunday in every six.

Blackburn library opened on Sunday for the first time last weekend from 11am to 3pm, but staff have only been paid their usual Saturday overtime rates.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council said the staff agreed to Sunday working at the Saturday rates when they signed up to a single status agreement last year, which laid down rates for weekend working.

But Unison representative Neville Davis said the staff never expected that they would be made to work Sundays, as the libraries had never opened on Sundays.

He said: "The staff are very unhappy about this. This has been made compulsory and no extra staff have been taken on."

Last year, the Government instructed all councils to bring in single status agreements to make terms and conditions the same for white collar and manual workers.

Library staff who were previously paid time-and-a-half for Saturday working are now paid on a different scale. Although some skilled staff are now paid more than before, the majority of library staff, who are part-time or unqualified, now receive less than time-and-a-half. The same scales are now to be applied to Sunday working.

One library worker said: "A lot of staff lost money under the agreement. Now we have to work Sundays as well and we are getting the same monthly salary as we did before. We never expected this to happen."

About 60 staff have been affected by the move. Mr Davis said he was concerned Sunday opening could be extended to branch libraries and other departments. He said unions had protested about the situation.

Other council workers who could be affected are staff at the museum and advice centres, which open on Saturdays but close on Sundays.

Very few British libraries open on Sundays, but it is becoming more common. A Lancashire County Council spokesman said they were considering the move in a bid to encourage more people to use them.

Library member John Duff, 37, of Blackburn, said: "I use the computers and I often get reference books. I come Monday and use the late opening on Tuesday. I think Sunday opening is a great idea."

Mum Melanie Smith, 26, of Wensley Road, Blackburn, has just renewed her membership to allow her to get books for baby Samuel, seven months.

She said: "I have been a member since I was a little girl. I may come on a Sunday but I think the staff should get paid more than for a Saturday."

Modern languages teacher Richard Baker, 55, of Ramsgreave, Blackburn, also uses the library in Town Hall Street on a regular basis.

He said: "I wouldn't use it on a Sunday personally but I imagine a lot of people may do and it is nice to know it is open if there is an emergency."

Stephen McCormack, 23, of Addison Close, Blackburn, went on: "I am going to join and I would come on a Sunday because it is something to do."